Blue Fire
by CAnoApple
Summary: Slight re-edited version of an old upload.
1. Human Error

A/N: To the few of you who read this the first time around...

Not much has changed with this story since the first time I uploaded it, but I've decided I will incorporate an SFA storyline later on. 

Blue Fire

Chapter One, Human Error

            In the past were overwhelming amounts of humiliation, insecurity, and a certain gross amount of fear embedded by an unremorseful monster. Good times were few and far between, home was never a place to feel comforted, and all too often, not even warm. Temporary shelter meant old abandoned warehouses, picking up, scattering quickly, scavenging for food on the way to the next destination. He'd never had it easy. That's what made war so simple:  Hunt the enemy. Live or die. If all goes well, willingly accept the grand heroes welcome each time the team returns from a successful mission. The thing about that was, this time, the mission had failed.

            The team had been ambushed by a rogue squadron at Sector Z. Fox was shot down but somehow managed getting away before the army of vultures could snatch him by the tail and drag him into the docks for mealtime. However, Slippy was practically turned into frog stew before being rescued by Bill Grey's Husky Unit, and Peppy had made it out alive, albeit by no more than a hair(no pun intended), but he was all broken up; suffered brutal torture at the talons of predators who didn't give a damn one way or the other if the old guy had already been through too much pain. Those guys would've plucked the last member of the team down to his last feather if they had caught him.

            In the middle of the night, Falco broke away from a vivid nightmare, one that brought back horrid memories of the day the Great Fox came down indefinitely. He was already onboard when the missiles hit, his ship docked for repairs after taking on a few hard laser strikes by three enemy fighters that he couldn't shake off his tail no matter how many tricky maneuvers he had tried. So far, no one else acknowledged that his plan to lead the team out over the southern post would have worked perfectly; it was Fox who countermanded the order, and it was he who failed to take out those last three enemy fighters.

            "Thirty more minutes, honey,"

            Falco looked over his shoulder when Katt spoke, trying his best not to lose his composure—couldn't shed tears in front of her, he couldn't even do that in front of his own mirror, only in total darkness, and completely alone.

            "You know it wasn't your fault. You're a great pilot, Falco," she moved behind him and snuck her arms around his waist. "Better than...." Her voice trailed off as though she suspected someone of eavesdropping on their private conversation within the solid walls of her small condo in Zoness.  "You know it well as anyone. It's just that no one wants to admit the truth,"

            "Don't, Katt."

            He broke from her hold and got out of bed, bristled his feathers a bit, felt her eyes on him as he retrieved his pants from the nearby pink satin upholstered chair and put them on. At least being with her last night had been a pleasant reminder of how good love could be as opposed to the "on one minute, off the next" relationship with his so-called good friend and current leader of the team. He despised those thoughts as he pulled a Tee-shirt over his head and tugged it over the tapered narrow curve of his middle, then looked back at Katt. She knew him well enough, accepted him the way he was, never asked for anything less. Perhaps he wasn't the one of the nicest guys in the universe, but he sure as hell didn't deserve the kind of treatment he'd been receiving lately. In other words, if someone wanted to pick another fight, Falco was surely ready to roll.

            But first, he had this last bit of business to finish.

            At the same time he turned around, Katt rose up from the bed then grabbed her fluffy white robe from the footboard and put it on over her semi-sheer camisole.

            "I think he's insecure, a personal problem, yaknow? Probably doesn't have anything to do with you, he just can't deal with his own shortcomings and that's really a shame, too. Fox seemed to have it all together and now we're seeing this side of him,"

            "Wha'd'you mean..._now_? This is nothing new," Falco shrugged. "All these years on that giant flying mobile home ain't been all wine and roses,"

            "I never thought so."

            "But we have a job and have to do it well or else....like Andross. I mean, who didn't want an end put to him? But Fox is still obsessed with it, almost like he's wanting the guy to come back or so he can wipe him out again. I'm sure he knows what went wrong this time but he thinks we're all supposed to show up at Pepper's doghouse and help bail him out after he made the stupid decision to go in blind....same thing happened when he tried being the big bad hero saving his first love..."

            Katt winced. "Don't bring that up, Falco. Really, I mean it. He hasn't gotten over losing her yet and no matter what's going on between you two, it wouldn't be fair to him."

            There was something odd about that word....Fair. Was there some kind of rule pertaining only to Fox? Were they coddling him in the name of fairness? Lately he'd been making some pretty bad decisions and yet received no reprimands—was that fair to anyone else?

            "No more _Mister Nice Guy_," Falco grabbed his jacket and slipped into it quickly. "If Fox wants all the glory he can sure as hell have it. I always figured I'd do better flying solo anyway..."

            "What?" Katt came around the bed in a jiffy as he pulled out his digital notepad and tapped off the alarm.

            "Starting today, I'm no longer one of Fox McCloud's wingmen. I'm turning in my resignation to Peppy."

            "But......you can't..."

            "I sure don't need to ask permission from Fox,"

            "I didn't say—"

            "It's over,"

            "But you...I thought...."

            "Thought what?"

            "Nothing.....If that's what you really want,"

            "Yeah, it is, sooner, the better."

Time: 1100  Sysdate: 103.94

Identified: F. Lombardi, 2nd Wingman, Star Fox Team

            A tall, gray female gave him a stern going over with her usual ingrained frown that he had to admit was pretty darned close to his own if not for the fact that she was a vixen instead of a male avian. General Pepper had a private shelter hidden deep inside the western mountains outside of Corneria City. His office was on the third floor of the installation. Star Fox had a permanent space at the location as well—the place where Falco had been hired onto the team as a matter of fact, but this time, before could get anywhere near the door, a secretary sent him through the identification area then screened him like she'd never seen his yellow-beaked face in her life although he'd been a regular visitor.

            "You're late, Airman Lombardi," 

            "Yeah, I had some trouble flying into Katina. Apparently they've been put on special alert,"

            She pursed her lips as though his comment was insignificant then met him on the other side of the detection equipment, and he waited while she issued him a temporary pass that would let him move freely about the third floor. Ursula Anssen, the boss Pepper's personal secretary, not only handled the paperwork and video feeds to the Great Fox, but also kept a detailed record of who came and went, and she took the job very seriously. According to rumor she was a distant relative of Pepper's, but he'd never said one way or the other and so far no one dared to ask.

            "Hold it! Where do you think you're going?"

            Falco stopped a few feet before the door to Pepper's office and looked back at Miss Anssen. "I'm going in. Something wrong?"

            "He's in there," She'd pulled a pen from behind her ear and pointed it toward the next door over from the General's.

            "Huh? That's Fox's office. I'm supposed to be meeting with General Pepper. I was told Fox would be there, too."

            "Well, he's not. He's waiting for you, in _his_ office," she pointed the pen again. "I've already notified him of your arrival,"

            Falco stood there for a moment, perplexed. _Sure as hell Katt hasn't snitched on me about the resignation.._

            "Airman Lombardi, I don't think you should keep your superior waiting much longer. He's not in a good mood."

            _oooooh, I'm supposed to be scared....?_

"Please, you're not doing yourself any favors," The mettlesome secretary scolded. "I said you'd better get going, right?"

            He turned away after one last scathing glare then quickly pressed a button just below the rectangular brass wall plate with engraved with black bold faced letters:

** J. McCloud, Star Fox One**. A touch of the pad automatically spread the rolling metal panels and cleared the entrance.

            The heels of Falco's boots stopped clicking soon as he stepped from the hard laminate surface of the outer area onto the wall-to-wall plush royal blue carpet. Lining the walls of the generously proportioned room were shelves filled with books, including Cornerian history, technical guides, and some rare collections of the Lylat System war logs. Straight ahead was Fox's desk, and upon it sat a sleek black flat-paneled monitor and a small amount of backlogged paperwork beside a couple of the newest version of Arwing manuals, then to the right were photographs—one of his four-year old son, the other of his deceased wife. It was then, looking at the face that had vanished forever into the clouds, when suddenly Falco realized that Fox was not seated in his executive chair at the desk as expected.

            "Hey, Falco. Glad you finally made it,"

            On the far right was a nook for the coffee and condiments. Fox stood there pouring himself a mug and plopped in two sugar cubes, and first thing that came to mind was that he didn't sound all that much in a bad mood, did he?

            "You want a cup? I just brewed it...It'll wake you up after that long flight in from Zoness."

            "Nah, I'm okay."

            "Well then, can I get you anything else? Orange juice? Ice water?"

            Falco slowly stepped forward, a little bit on guard. "Nope, I'm fine."

            Fox shrugged and came from the counter, "Suit yourself," then he extended an arm toward the chair on the other side of his desk as he sat down in his own. "Why don'tcha have a seat. Relax. We've got thirty minutes before the meeting,"

            "Thirty minutes? Didn't you say it would be at eleven hundred?"

            "Yeah...I did. But I wanted you here first, so we could go over some things,"

            Falco grumbled. "...I should've known."

            "What?"

            "Nothing,"

            After that was a short refrain from the already slow conversation, until Fox decided he was ready to start up again.

            "You don't look so good, Falco,"

            "Thanks, Fox. You don't look so pretty yourself."

            Falco sat back and admired his own sarcasm with a sort of half smirk until noticing how Fox looked at him with a long fixed stare. That's when the cold atmosphere in the room turned frigid as the winter air outside.

            "I asked you to come here because I've made a change of plans," Fox finally elaborated.

            "Change of plans? I didn't know there were any plans. The last mission failed. We were beat bad, we got out, that was it for the most part."

            "This has nothing to do with the last mission. I'd say it has more to do with future ones, and I wanted to tell you first, to make sure you don't misunderstand why I'm making this decision,"

            "What decision?"

            "I'm reassigning you, Falco. There's a unit at Synthesis Two in need of a pilot with strong leadership and weapons experience. You'll handle some of the training and go in when they need back up,"

            "Hold it just one sec," Falco sat forward and scooted to the edge of his seat, ready to shoot up at any second. "Are you saying what I think you're sayin'? You're firing me?"

            "I didn't say that—"

            "You didn't have to say it, Fox! I'm off the team, right? So how long did it take you to devise this scheme...."

            "Falco—"

            "..Not long, I bet, huh? Probably right after you blew the mission at Sector Z. Gotta cover your ass some kind of way so the General won't know who really burned us..."

            A fierce glimmer came to Fox's eyes and his mouth appeared to twist into a faint snarl just before balling his fists atop the desk, then he exhumed a muffled growl at the moment it seemed he would get up and smash Falco a good one, but something was different about him all of a sudden—not anger, but hurt—like a hand had gone down and ripped the guts right out of him. Falco then scooted back in the chair again and wished he hadn't....

            "I'm taking an extended leave of absence," said Fox. "Peppy suggested it. General Pepper agrees with it....even Slippy. I thought I'd have to convince you but I see that's not necessary,"

            "Fox—" the voice cracked, a headache that had been trying to come on was inevitable now. "I.....I...."

            "Forget it, Falco. I've got two days before taking leave. I'll make sure you've got your mission details by then,"

            "No—"

            "What?"

            "Something's not right about this. You called me in here to tell me you're taking time off, and you say it was Peppy's idea, and that the General and Slippy went along with it. You know what I don't believe about that, Fox? For one thing, there's no way Slippy would've gone along with it. Second of all, Peppy knew where I was and would've asked for my opinion. And the General's got you under contract for the next four years of which I seriously doubt he'd allow you to waste carousing somewhere on an enchanted island sipping umbrella drinks and chasing bikinis. I know the guy's got cash to burn but he's no fool,"

            Silence.

            Fox eyed the clock on the wall then directed his attention back at Falco. He took the second sip off his coffee then placed the cup down too hard, spilling some over the rim onto what had been a spotless desktop. "..Dang..." He blinked his eyes slowly, like he was sick and tired of himself then made another move to the coffee station where he grabbed a rag to clean up the spill. But he didn't sit back down.

            "If you're finished with me, Falco, I suppose you can go out and get ready for the meeting."

            Falco leaned forward again, pressed his hand against that throbbing spot in his head and looked up at Fox in a way that couldn't have been any more clear of the way he felt. Damn, they'd been through hell together, spent endless days and nights on the Great Fox knowing each other like brothers, had even nursed each other's wounds and he'd helped Fox get on his feet whenever the kid got soused after lost missions. Lost missions always upset the balance of things. Maybe this was just another one of those instances. Perhaps after this meeting, all would be forgotten and things would get back to normal; not that life with Fox McCloud had ever been predictable... _he'd just about shared the guy's soul, couldn't deny how close they'd come to--_

            "Airman Lombardi...Airman Falco Lombardi, please return to General Pepper's office at once...."

            He'd been out of Fox's office over ten minutes, went down the hall to get a bottled drink from a vending machine when the message came through from Miss Anssen.

            A strange pinching sensation ran down his back as he made his way through the corridor and got to the door of Pepper's office. The secretary nodded as he went in.

            "Sorry I'm late, General. I was here early and I—"

            "No need to explain, Falco. I want you out of here soon as possible!"

            "Sir, excuse me?"

            "Clear out, I said! I want you off this installation immediately, and don't you dare come back! Your severance will be sent to the forwarding address,"

            "But, General—"

            "OUT!"

            He hadn't even been given the opportunity to ask questions. Last thing he saw had been General Pepper's blazing eyes and the door that slammed in his face, then the secretary confiscated his temporary identification and said goodbye to him with just a hint of a smile.

            There had been no written or verbal warnings.

            But Fox....he must have known. He had something to do with this—the feeling crawled along Falco's spine again, wherein remained a strong connection whether or not he liked it.  _...You've gotta pull through....You can't go out like this....Don't die on me...Man, I'd die for you......  _He had not forgotten those words Fox spoke to him the last time he'd been wounded in action.

            "I'll have to ask you to step off the premises, Airman Lombardi," said one of the guards who escorted him to the main entrance.

            "Okay," Falco took one step backward and planted the toes of his boots on the line where all civilians were forbidden to cross. "I'm off. And so tell me whose ordering me off the property."

            "General Pepper, sir."

            "He can't do that by himself. Someone else would have to sign the order as well, and I wanna know who!"

            "Commander McCloud, sir."

            The mention of that name pierced him deep within the cavity of his chest.

            "Mister Lombardi!" One of the guards came after him, and he immediately noticed the civilian title. "Mister Lombardi! You dropped this."

            The guard held out a plain white envelope, the one that had been in Falco's right pocket. It was the letter of resignation. Once getting it in his hands, Falco tore it into shreds and let the pieces fly away with the cold winter breeze.


	2. Political Fallout

Blue Fire

Political Fallout

            Carcasses lied in the fields. In ditches. Along the foothills and the beaches. They floated in the ponds, lakes, and rivers. They went down by the masses, at first thought to be suffering some sort of epidemic but soon discovered by the Lylat Planetary Council that they were being slaughtered by Avian forces. The atrocious murders of Vulpine families living on the west coast of Zoness came as a shock, for it had been many years since the Avians had battled with any other species, and never with Vulpines, who had been staunch allies since the first Lylat Wars. But now a new dictator had come into power, one who believed in the ancient practice of predatory survival, and he gave the order to shed first blood. Thus, the tables of time were turned back to the days of the true hawks, foxes, reptilians, et cetera.

            One by one, young males, females, children, even newborn cubs were plucked from the streets by swarming Aves . The sight of it all laid sourly in Katt Monroe's stomach as she watched from her holding tank with many others; she'd been trapped on a bridge leading out of the city and snatched from the ground by claws of a huge black peregrine then hauled off to the killing fields in his ship. And now here, in an old abandoned warehouse that had once served as shelter for the homeless and poor.

            Little cubs and kittens whined fitfully. Otherwise, there was little movement, not much room to stretch, let alone breathe. Katt looked around, wishing to find someone she knew in the hundreds of scared faces....anyone...but then again, deep down she hoped none of her friends were as close as she had come to the final days. Before fleeing from her apartment in the midst of an intrusion, she had made one phone call to someone very important in her life. This friend—no matter how difficult he was at times—had begged her to stay put, not to go out into the streets because he knew she would risk getting captured by the Avians. The Avians? It was a boldfaced lie, for goodness sake; the man she loved was Avian. But this friend knew what was happening, all the information was in front of him, and he'd had good reason for trying to send Falco to a squadron on the far side of the universe. He had said it was for Falco's own good, to keep him from being captured and imprisoned by some Cornerian unit who knew nothing of him except that he looked like the enemy.

            Soon as Katt broke the communication with the friend, someone had grabbed her from behind, told her to stay quiet, warned her not to move. She knew that voice and reacted in fear, shoved him off and flipped him onto the floor. Yet, he'd managed rolling over and grabbing her by the ankle, but she kicked until finally snagging away. "Katt...!" He called as she scurried out of the room. "....Don't....go...!"

            She trembled now, had a strange feeling Wolf O'Donnell had been her last chance to stay alive. Someone once told her that he could be a caring man, that she didn't really know him, that he was a dedicated fighter and at the same time a man who revered life. Maybe it was true, especially since he had three children of his own, although they lived with his ex-wife.

            All of a sudden a burst of water sprayed down from above Katt and seemed to wash away her thoughts. Some of the others screamed, believing it was some sort of chemical that would poison them. But no...it was only water, she tasted it on her lips. "FIRE!" Someone in the crowd shouted, and she felt her body being shifted forward but worked hard at staying upright so she wouldn't get trampled beneath anyone's feet as they began moving swiftly toward what she hoped was an exit. One more chance was all she needed.

            Get out.

            Survive.

            Find Falco...

~~~

            On another shore stood Wolf O'Donnell, with him, Leon Powalski and a good friend of the Star Wolf team, Rick Demarres. The kid was a rough and tumble feline, and yet he had been an outstanding student back when Wolf was a head instructor at the Clusters of Venom—the main training facility for the Androssian military. Rick had short brown and white fur with a few streaks of silver on his head even though he was only twenty-five. Actually the silver looked very nice on him, gave him a sort of distinguished look, making him appear more mature and sensible.

            Wolf stood up in the place where he and his fellow commandos had hunkered down briefly, or at least until the next wave of hawks moved in from across the sea.

            "Leon, toss me the shield propellant,"

            The chameleon gazed up at his superior whose long, sleek, gray form was cast in silhouette against the backdrop of sunny blue sky. He then grabbed the small can from his pack beside him and gave it a good lift into the air, which was just enough for Wolf to make a perfect catch.

            "Very good," Wolf shook the can a bit to access its volume. "Enough to last a good two days,"

            "Yes, it is, sir." Leon nodded.

            "This will stun those birds in their paths. Their flocks will drop from the skies in droves and land on the ground in piles, just as they are doing to the innocent on this planet."

            Leon then heard the young fellow next to him mumble something.

            "What's that you just said, Rick?"

            For a moment the boy hesitated and looked up at Wolf in wonder.

            "It's just that....I didn't know you'd come here to save Vulpines, Major O'Donnell, considering your deep hatred for....well...you know,"

            "What, you think I'm some sort of ogre? Gad, Richard, I'll defend women and children as any of us would, plus, like Leon, I'm eager to see the Avians put down for good."

            Yes indeed, Leon agreed with that—and that there was one Avian who he wished to be more than dead. _...If we'd gotten in earlier, I could've had him...Falco Lombardi.... ...I'd like to know where that Miss Katt Monroe vanished to after she wrestled away from Wolf...._


	3. Broken

Blue Fire

Broken

            Lights in the office had been dimmed, making the fine print hardly visible to the eye, yet clear to a special device used for viewing top secret documents. The evidence was sufficient, no matter how desperately he wished it to fade. Halfway down the first page appeared the name of a man who had been absent from his son's life in order to serve a dictator whose main goal was eliminating lives from an already embattled universe.

            This angered Fox, but there wasn't anything he could do other than accept it like any other job. _ You've done your best. Defended the innocent. Defeated the enemy many times before this.... Can't win 'em all. You've done your duty, now it's time for that extended leave of absence..._ The worst part of it was that Falco had spent the past few years dedicated to defending Corneria—he didn't deserve being tossed to the curb by those guards, but the General had his reasons, however idiotic they were—

            "Fox, is everything okay?"

            He turned on his desk lamp to full brightness then looked up at Peppy who had startled him.

            "Yeah....I'm all right,"

            "Then what are you doin' with those pills? Hope you're not thinking of killing yourself over this?"

            Fox looked down into the palm of his left hand and saw the mound of tablets he must have dumped there while his brain was in a haze. An open bottle was in the other hand, completely empty. Also was a glass of water on the desk to his right. Quickly, he shoved the pills back inside the container and grabbed the cap off the desk then twisted it on tightly, leaving just one pill in his hand, and he popped that into his mouth then washed it down with the glass of water.

            "Kill myself?" After swallowing the double-strength pain-reliever, he chuckled, maybe a bit too rigidly. "Why would I do something like that?" Another chuckle, again, too stiff.

            When he looked back up, Peppy's eyes were dead on him, didn't even crack a smile as he sat down in the seat on the opposite side of Fox's desk.

            "This ain't the end of the world, my friend. We've done our part as a team. We made a difference.....a good difference. You know, your father used to say that after you win one war there's always another to take its place, but the circumstances change from one instance to the next. Y'know, I just can't help bein' kind of worried about this personal attachment between you and Falco,"

            Fox leaned on the desk with his paws stressfully pressed on his forehead.

            "Peppy, please..."

            "Me and your father were close...I can actually say I loved the guy...respected him,"

            The hands came down immediately and the anger flared. "You're saying I don't have respect for Falco?"

            Brief pause.

            "Well, sometimes—"

            "What!"

            "Fox, calm down now. All I'm saying is you might've done better had you been upfront with him about your feelings, and I think you shortchanged him when you assumed he'd be better off at Synthesis Two,"

            "I told you why that was necessary."

            "He's a big boy, can take care of himself. He'll eventually find out about his dad, and whether you think so or not, he'll be the one to deal with it. I thought you of all people would've realized that—"

            The speakerphone buzzed, breaking Peppy in mid-sentence. Fox then tapped the button that opened the intercom.

            "Fox! Get in here. Now!" General Pepper came through with a striking force of rage, so strong it rattled the phone's casing. After that, Fox looked at Peppy, who appeared to know what was about to happen by the unsettling glint in his eyes.

            Fox had to answer, no other choice.

            "Yes, sir."

            Soon as Falco walked in the front door, he stopped to savor all that he'd worked hard for, knowing it was no sure thing where he'd be tomorrow, just hoped he wouldn't end up one of those rags to riches to rags again stories. This home of his had been his first purchase after defeating Andross in the first Lylar War. It was small but very neatly kept, and Katt had fallen in love with the place when she first visited, promised to help him keep things clean and she had done that very well. He wasn't at all looking forward to telling her how likely it was that he wouldn't be able to stay there, certainly not after being fired—would have been different if he'd quit.

            A few minutes after getting in, he realized how hungry he was and prepared a sandwich, sat down in his comfortable dining room to eat, and washed it down with an ice-cold quart of beer. Once finished, he sat down his couch, legs outstretched, put his head back and tried closing his eyes.

            _Ding_

            A message light illuminated on the com. Probably his former team leader. Sure as hell didn't want to hear from him, didn't want to have to look at his face again.

            The communications center sat on an end table on his left next to the couch. All he had to do was reach over and tap the red button to answer it, and the screen would pop up, then the message would play. But he just couldn't do it. Didn't want to. Had no desire,

            "Shoot!"

            He answered. The screen came up and the words blinked in green:

            ::::urgent transmission from Zoness::::

            He remembered the promise to call Katt soon as he was finished with the meeting, and sighed with relief.

            ::::message start::::

            A face appeared,

            "Falco? If you're there...well I hope you get this, it's been a long time..."

            He sat up and looked at the screen in haunted surprise when seeing the blue feathered falcon who he hadn't seen in the last ten years.

            "Son, I want you to know I've been thinking about you. I mean that. There's not much time, so I'd better make this quick. I believe there's something you don't know about me. I'm not such a bad guy. After all these years I've been working hard at trying to change but it's much easier said than done. I know you can't forgive me for things I've done in the past, probably not for what I'm going to do, I don't expect you to understand it now, but maybe one day.

            We're Avians, son. The freest form of life in the universe and some are jealous of that but you should be proud every inch. Sure, there's some of us who are very bad but I can say that about every species in existence. I'm telling you this because we're about to face one of the most brutal times you or I have seen in our lifetime. I can't tell you about it now, but soon enough you'll know why....."

::::flashing::::signal interference:::::

::::fuzzy picture/sound flashing::::lost signal::::::

:::::end transmission:::::

            The man hadn't been much of a father but he sure was an outstanding magician. Had a great disappearing act. His last whereabouts were unknown, he never called, didn't write. Seeing his face over the private interstellar network was kind of like looking at a new invention—amazing, but its usefulness unproven. For the most part there was no reason to believe him because so far he'd never been truthful. This time would be no different. It couldn't even be believed when he said Avians were the freest form of life in the universe...no Avian was really free. They were burdened with a duty to the Lylat System, lauded for their great flying and hunting skills, recognized for their brilliant technological advances and the discoveries of many natural resources. It was an Avian who stepped down from the department of Cornerian Defense in order to put General Pepper into power. Ironic now that the General had banished his best Avian pilot from the base.

            No other incoming transmissions were available. Falco then picked up the dial pad and keyed in a number but received nothing more than a dead signal. Subsequently, he entered another series of digits, bringing up the Private Interstellar Information Network. In the forefront was General Pepper, standing in his office at headquarters, but this time he was flanked by members of the Lylat Planetary Council.

:::::Attacks are eminent. Trogon has armies encoded with an ancient predatory gene. His first targets have been Vulpine, about seventy percent. Reptilian assaults stand at around twenty. Seven percent are feline. The rest are nomadic species. We must rout these Avians. They're quickly moving toward an invasion on Corneria. We'll need all of our back-up forces on this mission. Two units near Macbeth have already been disabled, and unfortunately, Star Fox is inactive. We'll have to do everything in our power to save the innocent and eliminate the enemy army. Good luck, soldiers.

::::::end transmission:::::

            A white line moved across the screen then faded to a small dot before the picture went black.

            "Damn you, Fox!"

            He got up and slammed edge of the couch with his fist.

            "Oh man....Katt....!"

            The dead signal had been her number, and when he dialed it a second time, the sound of an empty connection brought chills back up his spine. Thinking of what he'd been through earlier, the disgruntled hawk grabbed his jacket out of the closet then headed to the door in a heated rush.


	4. Perfect Timing

Blue Fire

Perfect Timing

Zoness

Inland Corridor

            "That was good. Very good."

            Rick caught the nod of his superior then fell in quickly behind the driver's seat.

            Leon wrapped up the elements used to start the fires then strapped in, knowing Wolf was an expert at his own Wolfen II, nevertheless hell behind the wheel of a hovercraft.

            "Lock in tight, young man," Leon gave fair warning to Rick just before the vehicle shot forward like a guided projectile then peeled around a corner like wind shear.

            "We've slowed their plans significantly," Wolf had his eye on the road, a hand on the wheel, the other hand holding a premium quality stogie as pre-celebration. "Now we'll head further inland, and we'll wait...wait for her to come." The anticipation in his voice disclosed vagary. However, his true intentions remained obscured.

            _He wants Katt....but for what? What's so important about capturing Falco Lombardi to Wolf? It's Fox McCloud he wants. Perhaps Falco's capture could lead him to Fox? Then what will he do with Katt?_

            In the meantime, their leader marked the exact location of her infamous fighter, the Cat's Paw, with a red X on his map of the region. Leon had his suspicions over Wolf's sudden infatuation with the woman who stole one the most expensive ships from his treasured fleet after escaping his prison so many years ago. She had also led Fox McCloud into the landings at Venom City on that day, and the loyal son of Lylat successfully wiped out an entire brigade, including the trainees led by Wolf. Rick was the only other survivor in the entire squadron, and Wolf had narrowly escaped. Yes, this was the woman inherently responsible for the patch over his eye; the grudge must have finally grown into an obsession with revenge.

            "Ten miles," He breathed heavier, bearing down on the accelerator and made a turn off the main road and into a heavily wooded area near the mountains. "We'll get there soon. Leon, I take it you've got devices to keep her under control this time?"

            "Yes, sir." the stark-eyed chameleon answered, nervously watching as the vehicle skinned bark off a few trees. His stomach curdled even worse when his leader briefly took an eye off the road to stow the cigar. He could only wonder what Rick must have been feeling as he was pinned in the cramped space of the back seat.

            As they came closer to the edge of the mountainside, the trees became even more dense and more than enough times Leon saw his life ending at the hands of his superior, however, he said not a word, knowing he would have gained a more horrible death if pissing off Wolf at the wrong time. For every time they sliced through the narrow spaces, he closed his eyes and swallowed hard. The last time he'd checked the hovercraft's display it was somewhere above the top speed indicator. Hearing the branches snap especially crackled his nerves.

            "Gentlemen, we've arrived!"

            The vehicle slid into the dirt and spun around before coming to complete stop. Leon breathed again.

            Not far away from where they parked was the carnation pink former Wolfen with its nose buried halfway into the rocks and the cockpit hatch open. Wolf had a gleam in his eye then, almost as though he imagined the real woman strapped helplessly inside of the customized fighter, no matter how obvious it was that the ship was empty.

            "Looks like our pink lady had a little accident,"

            _And we narrowly missed one or two ourselves....._

            Wolf walked up to the ship and patted the hull near the tail where he approached. "No wonders she couldn't fly out before those birds arrived."

            He soon got up to the cockpit and did a standard check of the console which included a scan of the embedded data recorder from which he could retrieve information, which was the way he'd kept tabs on Katt's every move over the years and it proved effective, for her whereabouts in that ship often gave him advanced warning of the Star Fox team's arrival.

            "Then, sir, do you think she'll still try coming here? Perhaps she'll try getting out another way."

            Wolf poked his head up from the cockpit and looked down at Rick.

            "She knows she'll be caught if she tries heading back to the city. Plus, this is her only means of communication for the moment. I'm sure she'll come here in order to contact Star Fox, then I'll have her...._we'll_ have her, right where we want her..."

            "Sir? I think I just saw something."

            Rick's sudden remark shifted the attention toward a spot in the distance where there was a gap in the foothills. Wolf jumped from the side of the tattered ship to the ground then took a few steps forward, and Leon fell in behind him, sighting something yellow and blue that went away as fast as it had appeared.

            "I don't see anything." said Wolf.

            "I did," Leon acknowledged meekly, not wanting to make his boss seem visually challenged, although it was a fact. "Looked like an Avian. I saw the wings. Maybe that's one of their hideouts."

            "Hmm. Now it's a matter of if they've spotted us before we spotted them. Rick, go over to the craft and bring me the scope. I'd like to get a closer look—"

            No later than it took for the scope to be retrieved and put into his hands, a long fiery arrow whizzed by his head and scorched the brittle ground that it had pierced behind him, and he immediately turned about right along with Leon and Rick, all three suddenly finding themselves surrounded by many members of an exotic bird tribe.

            "Mubo edo melo, oei we feev!"

            The huge cockatiel-looking creature at the forefront of this tribe, loaded another flaming arrow into his bow, and Wolf raised his hands in surrender before giving Leon and Rick a slow nod to do the same.

            "What the hell's this, jungle speak? Leon, what did he say?"

            "It's an ancient language, Sir. Dino, I believe. And he said if we dare make one move, we'll all go...poof."

            Thank God Leon knew the language fairly well, yet it didn't save him or the young soldier from being taken hostage, and his efforts to keep them from being separated from their leader had failed miserably. Such failure left him trapped in a pit without much else other than this knowledge and a young soldier who paced nervously in front of him.

            "Please, settle down, Rick. I beg of you."

            "I can't," The boy continued on his nowhere trek, his arms crossed, his legs shakily moving him back and forth. "What are they doing to him? They'll kill him."

            Leon sat with his back against a rock wall, his legs stretched out, and his tapered tail rolled out to the side. "Not likely. Wolf doesn't break easily. I can almost assure you it'll only be a matter of time before he finds a way out of whatever hole they've put him in, and then we'll take over."

            Rick finally stopped in his tracks, but his arms remained folded, and he shuddered slightly because the place was rather cold and damp. "But he doesn't even speak their language. You do!"

            "So, this is true."

            "Well, how can he convince them to spare him if he can't even communicate with them?"

            "He will."

            "You sound so sure."

            "That's because I know our commander better than you. I know what he's been through and I can attest that he's survived far greater odds than this. I'm the master of disguise..."

            "I thought you were the master of torture, sir,"

            "Well, yes, that too. But Commander O'Donnell is a master of peace just as much as he is at war. Give him a little while and he'll have those insidious creatures tamed like his own parakeets."

            Rick faced Leon and finally brought his arms down to his sides. "The commander owns parakeets?"

            "Two. Lovebirds, actually. Given to him just recently by a fortuneteller when he visited on one of our distant planets. Lovebirds. Good fortune. They go hand in hand."

            "He believes in things like that?" Rick scrunched his feline nose.

            "Yes... And you've got a point there, Richard. He doesn't seem the type to believe in the supernatural and all that, does he? But then again, now as I come to think about it...it all makes perfect sense..."

            "What, sir?"

            "Lovebirds. The male is named Lupin, the female is Kitty. I never would've guessed it until now."

            They disbursed monumental silence as Leon contently understood the side quest of this mission, yet he could tell Rick remained confused.

            "I don't get it."

            Leon had only two words. "You will."

            The young soldier started pacing again. "All I know is that since we're all in here, we can't do anything about the Avians advancing on Zoness out there. Didn't the commander say we have to save this planet or all is lost?"

            The one thought on Leon's mind then was of what would happen if Trogon was successful in taking Zoness, then how quickly the monster would send out his troops to overtake Venom.

            "Lieutenant Powalski, I don't see how Commander O'Donnell expects to accomplish the goal now."

            "He's contacted our special forces."

            "Without two-way?"

            There was nothing else for Leon to say except when he looked up at Rick, he noticed the kid had stopped again and was looking back at him with a deeply engaging stare.

            "The scope," said Rick. "He twisted it, and he pressed something before putting it back into the hovercraft..."

            A smile broke across Leon's lips as he got up on one knee. "You're observant. That's a good thing," He then slipped a hand underneath his jacket and revealed just a little of something that luckily their captors did not confiscate. "We will get out of here,"

            Rick's eyes widened. "A taser..."

            "Shh. Not one, but two. I've got a few other things up my sleeve as well. The oldest trick in the book, boy. It won't take much to get those guards in here once we make a little noise. Together we'll take them down and we'll be free.

            Our leader was sent here for a very special purpose, to complete a mission that no one else in this entire galaxy could possibly achieve. Especially not that miserable Star Fox from Corneria. You see how quickly they were chased out of here. Because obviously, they were no match for Trogon's predator armies. Of course, it would be beneficial if they'd come back, that way I could complete my personal mission of wiping out that annoying bird, Falco Lombardi."

            Leon stood and handed over the other weapon to Rick.

            "What do we do first, sir?"

            "Do your best bird call. Make it high and loud."


	5. Ground Level

Blue Fire,

Ground Level

"He's here,"

Leon knelt and pulled out the small scope he'd stolen after taking down one of the guards. He and Rick were now out of the cell and far into the depths of the cave consisting of many winding tunnels. He could hear Wolf howling in pain from there, in a way that sounded as one would after being run over by a tram and knocked beneath the third rail. No doubt that he'd been pinned and tied—no telling for how long. Yet and still, knowing the art of torture so well, Leon was almost certain he'd find his superior dangling within some sort of wired contraption or perhaps a freestanding type of nailing device. Thinking of this, he listened to the whisper from the young man on his right.

"What will we do now, sir?"

Leon crept to the edge of the rock wall and looked around the curved area, balancing carefully against it, just enough to see a caged area lit by torches, and were members of the bird tribe moving around along with the chief who had jailed him standing in the forefront, one hand holding what appeared to be a long ornamental staff.

"We can't do anything right now," Leon knew they couldn't have made a mad dash out there and pulled any act or heroism. Helping the commander break free of his captors would be a slow process, but it would be done strategically, to make sure they all got out alive.

"Lieutenant...listen.."

From a distance was another voice, a female, speaking in a manner that would have made even a gorilla heel to her demands._"I said, let him go! He hasn't done anything to you. He's not your enemy. As a matter of fact he's mine, and I'll pay you well if you hand him over to me."_

Leon flinched as the young man behind him gasped and pointed. "It's her!"

A pink top and black pants. Her hair was short and fluffy, pointy ears and whiskers, and the sound she usually made in her pleasure was a constant purr.

"Monroe....that's her, isn't it?" Rick moved forward just an inch to get a closer look.

"Yes. Yes, it's her."

"Well what is she doing?"

"If I weren't seeing it with my own two eyes I wouldn't believe it. But I think she's trying to rescue our commander, Richard."

"Why would she do that? I thought she hates him. And isn't she Falco Lombardi's girl?"

"Rumor,"

"But you said so yourself, sir."

"I'll tell you a little secret, Rick, if you promise not to tell."

"Of course I promise."

Leon took one more look into the caged area where Katt worked her alluring magic with the chief in hopes of what was obviously an unfeigned effort at freeing Wolf. After seeing that, he leaned back toward Rick and spoke quietly. "Our commander....He's not a young fellow, but he draws women like bees to nectar...."

Rick let out a low but very amused laughter. "Sir, forgive me, but I think you're pulling my leg."

When Leon looked back again, the chief had moved aside to allow his torture artist access to Wolf, and in a short matter of time they had released him, and he' tried to say something, looked at Katt, and then stumbled as she helped him to the nearest chair. "Here," She had pulled something out and offered it to the chief. "It's yours if you all go away and let us leave here without harm."

Magic. Sheer magic.

"She did it," Rick whispered again. "He's free—"

"Shhh," Leon prepared to move ahead. "Get out your taser,"

"Sir?"

"We've got her. Now we follow through with the initial plan..."

The look on Rick's face was one of surprise. He must have been realizing it, that the plan for Katt had been to hit her with one good jolt that would keep her unconscious until the carrier arrived. After that, Leon really wasn't sure of what Wolf wanted to do with her, but he was certain that from there, she would be on her way to a swank little hidden suite somewhere back in Venom.

"Now, those birds have all moved out. Let's go."

Rick followed reluctantly, yet they soon reached the area where Katt was with Wolf, and met them both with surprise.

"Leon—"

Wolf spoke in a horse voice, and right when Katt turned to see them, Rick jabbed the taser into her neck, and she collapsed in the boy's arms, stunning the hell out of their superior, forcing his weakened body out of the chair.

"What the hell did you do that for!"

Rick confusingly looked from one to the other. "But....Commander....Leon told me to,"

Wolf knelt to pick up the taser that had dropped in the scuffle then stood again and angrily stashed it into his jacket. "Leon, you idiot! She just rescued me from that horrendous bunch of exotic fowl and you've zapped her? Do you know what she just did? She gave that clown chief a good amount of money from her savings account.....to save my life!"

Idiot. It was Leon's most loathing insult. "I....I thought...." 

"And furthermore, you didn't ask any questions, just bolted right in here and..."

"Sir?" Rick interrupted but Wolf kept going.

"Not now, I'm talking. I would have told you not to—"

"Sir,"

"Dammit boy, What is it!"

"She's getting a bit heavy."

Wolf looked miserably to Leon. "Help him pick her up, would you. Then we'll get out of here, and I'm giving you the responsibility of contacting the backup with our location. Let them know we'll have a prisoner..."

"She's...our prisoner?" Rick intervened, pressing full bore on his luck. "But you were angry with us for shocking her..."

"I said, prisoner dammit!" Wolf gestured cracking a block against the young man's head. "One that I preferred to walk and talk instead of carrying out of here like a corpse! Now lift her and let's get going!"

"Yes, sir." Rick saluted and got his leverage underneath Katt's arms while Leon took the lower half.

And Wolf looked scathingly into his lieutenant's eyes. "No more mistakes, understand me?"

Not a word came from Leon's mouth, only a deep dry swallow, then a very brisk nod.

Katina

_The Grotto Waterhole_

"I knew you wouldn't last."

Falco didn't bother looking over his shoulder, partly because he was too exhausted and the other part didn't feel like dealing with an earful of bull. _Not tonight, I knew I shouldn't have landed at Katina._

"On your way to Zoness, huh?"

He kept his eyes on the glass at the bar in front of him, half empty, straight booze, no rocks. Didn't matter what he did though, because the guy who started talking to him took a seat on the next stool, and then he looked, and saw one less than good old friend, fighter pilot Bruin Hester of Bear Force. He was an usual sort of character to be one of the best pilots in Lylat, liked wearing his sunglasses flipped up and his identification tags dangling on the outside of his shirt. He was stocky with a thick coat of black fur, white paws, gray eyes.

"So's Lombardi, how much did they pay you to quit? Of course that damn stingy McCloud probably wanted to pull back the cut of whatever you had comin' to you."

"I think that's pretty much it, Hester. Tell me what the hell it is you need or get the fuck outta my face."

"Well, here's what I know. There's a General Trussel at Zoness who's looking for a specialist—"

"First off, I've had enough of one general, I don't know what would make you think I need employment from another one."

"Hey, the guy's fair, what can I say? He sure won't toss you to street like Pepper did."

"Sound like everybody's talking,"

"Word gets around. Just like it got around about you and McCloud getting into it at your place last night. What the hell happened anyway? I heard you bloodied his nose pretty damn good after he went over and tried explaining his reason for firing you."

"Friggin' walls do have ears," Falco mumbled.

"What?"

"He didn't fire me. I quit."

"Oh yeah? Then what was he over there for?"

_Good question, why the hell was he? _To claim Pepper didn't have anything against Avians. To admit his damned mistake at Sector Z and say he was having a hard time dealing with life in general at this point. Too bad Falco hadn't been in the mood for lousy excuses.

"So what was it? Begging you to stay on?"

"Tryin' to save his furry little hide, that's what. Listen, Hester, you said your piece, now get lost—"

"Well you best be glad you got out when you did. There's a lot of new blood out there. I hear from now on Pepper's gonna be reluctant to even use Star Fox for anything much more than patrols and if they're lucky a few reconnaissance missions. Fox just doesn't have what it takes to fight the new wars. If you really want to know, I never thought he was all that good really. More a matter of Pepper feeling bad about the guy's dad and all. But you, man, you made the team what it was, and now with you out, they're finished. That's why Chuck sent me over here to talk to you. He wants you on our team."

"And are _you_ finished, Hester?"

"Not 'til I get a yea or nay from you, comrade."

"I'm not givin' you anything—"

"Come on,"

"Look, I just broke free from one mutt. I ain't joining Bear Claw...don't need 'em—"

"That's Bear Force,"

"Whatever. You can tell ol' Chucky Bear I don't work for anybody else but myself from here on out."

"That's a good one, Lombardi. Work for yourself, eh? And when you get shot down over the deep blue sea, who will you be depending on for search and rescue?"

"I won't get shot down."

"Oh yeah, I forgot, the Avians....they'll all think you're on their side—"

In a trice Falco spun from the stool and at Bruin Hester's throat, shoving the smart-mouthed pilot against the bar in front of a club full of spectators. "I'm not the damned enemy. This is my home just like it is yours and I'll do whatever the hell it takes to get rid of those flies on Zoness if it means me fallin' in on them strapped to a damned warhead. Keep at it and I'll strap your fuzzy bear ass to one."

An ounce of whiskey was still on the counter in Falco's glass. He grabbed the thing and slammed it down his gut then showed himself to the door before the bouncers kicked him to it.

Next stop. Zoness.


	6. No Holiday

Blue Fire

Chapter Six, _No Holiday_

         The sun broke over the mountains, glared strong and high.

         Fox lowered his sunglasses then lied back on the hammock after taking a good long sip from his tall, frothy Mai Tai.

         "Anything else I can get for you, Monsieur McCloud?"

         French Corneria. Quite different from anywhere else on the face of the planet.

         "Yeah...you can..." He stopped for a moment to see the young vixen serving him. She was beautiful. Golden fur. Blue eyes. Brilliant smile. "Another one of these," He smiled back kindly and raised his glass to her hand.

         "We, Monsieur."

         She curtsied and left him, and he inwardly congratulated himself for not doing something that would cause trouble again such as telling her how beautiful her eyes were or how cute she looked in that little hostess outfit. Since Fara, every attempt at being friendly with a member of the opposite gender came out halfheartedly.

         "Anything else?" she asked after returning with his drink.

         "No, that's all, thanks."

         To keep from feeling like an idiot and trying to remain obscure as well, he buried himself in a standard paper publication on the table beside him, decreasing the chance of being spotted by anyone on the island who could have recognized his telltale red fur underneath his telltale aviator shades.

TROGON'S RAGING TAKOVER GOES UP IN FLAMES.

         Obviously, the war wasn't going away any time soon.

         Fox turned the page, hoping to find a lighter side of things.

CERINIA: Under Siege by Rogue Space Battalion

         "...Cerinia...  Never heard of that one," He folded the paper and laid it on the table again. "Now I know why they say no news is good news..."

         He lied back and relaxed for the first time in at least three weeks. This little remote island trip was his first chance in a long time to get away and take a well-deserved break. He had done his best so far, although up to this point, he'd been spending most of the time in his private suite just in case an important call came in. Of all things, the biggest concern was his young son, Jamie, the kid's early years being raised on the Great Fox, watching his dad come on go on missions and learning the ropes of mercenary life. In a few more weeks, he'd start school—real school, with the benefits of being around other cubs and learning about the basics—language, math, science, et cetera. Little Jamie already knew more than any other kid on the planet about missiles, smart bombs, and triple lasers to practically lead his own young cub team. Peppy, recalling the awkward transition for Fox when his dad put him into regular school after hauling him around in space for the first seven years of his life, suggested Corneria's finest primary learning complex, PTA, Pre-Air Defense Training Academy.

         At least Jamie seemed to be doing fine without a mother. One reason was the photos he had of her, the best kept within reach of his bedside. Sometimes he lied on his tummy and just stared at it, perhaps thinking of what it would have been like if she were there with him. Then all of sudden the pleasant shine in his eyes would turn a solid frown, perhaps thinking of how much he loathed Andross.

         For a short time, Fox thought of Fara's tragic death and how it was in the back of his mind during the final days of Lylat's greatest war. There he had been, going off to serve his galaxy at eighteen, not knowing when or if he would return. He thought of what had happened after his first defeat of Andross, when Fara was captured and he had gone to save her. Then he recalled the final battle, after Fara's death, and the explosion behind him as the image of his father had appeared and led him out safely.

         _You won't be coming back anymore Andross. I've gotten rid of you once and for all..._

         As those thoughts crossed his mind, the daylight suddenly darkened. Fox pushed up from the hammock and raised his shades to look around, sighting all the islanders, guests, and employees with their eyes focused on the sky and pointing as if they saw something spectacular. Actually, it was awesome.  Lylat's sun wasn't glowing anymore.

-----------------------------

         Flashes of light burned through space, sharp rays of brilliant color bounced around in thunderous spikes in the usually soundless atmosphere.

         Peppy scrambled to the controls and activated the observatory nose.

         "What've we got here," he joined Rob at his station and waved Slippy to come forward. "Some kind of light rays. I wonder what caused it."

         In another part of the ship, Jamie tumbled about in his play area, harbored with great care, not a worry in his world, neither on his mind. From his spot near the center of the large room, something caused him to look up to the window and see a wide view of space. Beyond those stars, bright lines of colors dashed in circles then dissipated like magic.

         This cub had loads of toys to play with. Cars, trucks, planes, even a model Arwing, all keeping him occupied beyond the stretches of imagination. Yet, he always enjoyed the thrilling light shows of exploding asteroids and shooting stars ever so often.

         "Ooh," The cub's amazement endured.

         Another dramatic burst of light, and he felt a strong jolt of current.

         "Wow! Cool!"

         Then was nothing but a white light, a beam pouring in through the window and covering the entire room.

         An image then appeared before him. It was a vixen. Tan fur. Loving smile. He wasn't sure at first, then struck in awe by what he saw.

         "Mother?" he said, voice quivering. Then slowly he reached for her, and the tips of his paws connected with her transparent image. The touch was warm, gentle...._alive._ She even spoke his name, said she would always love him just before her image faded out.

         "You see anything, Peppy?"

         The light had blinded him. Once it passed, he stepped back and scratched his head. "Yeah...uh...I did."

         "Well what was it?" Slippy pried.

         "I don't really know. But it's all gone now. Guess just another asteroid. I sure hope it didn't have anything to do with the war on Zoness. That rumble felt like a whole planet blew up."

A/N:  After taking an extended break from this story(as well as a few of my other very good creative endeavors...^_~) I have returned! Guess I can't make any promises as to how long it'll take before any more updates though.


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